<div id="post_message_105349">MINNEAPOLIS -- Al Jefferson was still clearing the cob webs from his head when he arrived in the Twin Cities on Aug. 1 and prepared for a press conference as one of the newest members of the Minnesota Timberwolves. After finally coming to grips with the fact that he was one of five players traded by the Boston Celtics to the Wolves for All-Star Kevin Garnett, Jefferson was just about to walk into a packed room to meet local media when plans abruptly changed. The Interstate 35W bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River less than an hour before the press conference was going to be held, a disaster that killed 13 people and prompted Jefferson to reach out to his new community. "Being a young guy, I was real shocked when (the trade) happened," Jefferson said Wednesday. "So I got through that. I got here and I realized this was the best situation for me. "Then (the bridge collapse) happened and it was just like, 'Wow.' So it was a strange time for me. Then we had to come back and redo the press conference a week later. It was just bad for me. A lot of things were happening in a short period of time. So I knew I had to do something then." One of the enduring images of the wreckage was a bright yellow school bus sitting on a slab of concrete in the middle of the river. It carried children and staff members for the Minneapolis Waite House, a summer youth program that brought more than 50 inner city children to a suburban water park that day. Amazingly, all the passengers on the bus made it out alive and without serious injury, but the harrowing tale caught Jefferson's attention. Exactly four weeks after those kids climbed out of the bus to the safety of the river banks, Jefferson and Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman welcomed them to Target Center for an afternoon of chowing down and shopping for school supplies. "It's always about the kids to me," he said. "I'm only 22, so it wasn't that long ago when I was their age. Anytime I get some time to help them out, I always take advantage of it." The kids got a free lunch at the NBA City restaurant, located just a few steps from the basketball court, then got to go pick out back packs, pencils, notebooks and other nifty stuff as they get ready to head back to school next week. Jefferson picked up the tab, and gave some rattled kids a much-needed pick-me-up. "It's good that they get some good publicity for once," said Renisha Gray, a youth manager for Waite House. "All of the rest of it has been cameras shoved in their face saying, 'How do you feel? How do you feel?' "Now for it to be a good event, it makes them feel very, very good. It lets them know people care." The children are just getting to know Jefferson, a power forward with an easy smile who is charged with filling the enormous shoes -- literally and figuratively -- of Garnett, the face of the Timberwolves on the court and in the community for the last 12 years. Even before he has set foot on the court in a Timberwolves uniform, Jefferson is already getting off on the right foot. "It's very exciting," said Elfego Vences, one of the children who benefited on Wednesday. "He's really showing how much he cares about us." It's not just Jefferson. Fellow former Celtics Sebastian Telfair, Ryan Gomes and Gerald Green also pledged to help out when they return to the Twin Cities in the coming weeks. "That's what was so touching," Wittman said. "As an organization, we saw right away what kind of character these young guys bring. Not even being here less than a day when it happened, the first thing they said is, 'We want to help in anyway we can.' "They said it that night before they left. That speaks volumes to these young kids to where their hearts are. I think they are diving into the community and becoming a part of it as fast as they can." Jefferson deflected the praise, saying he didn't do this to ingratiate himself in his new hometown. "I just wanted to show them that the Timberwolves care," Jefferson said. "That we care as a team and we'll always be there to help them when we can. We're not looking at them like they NEED help. It's just that everybody could use a helping hand sometimes. Maybe one day they'll be able to help me."</div>
